Congressional oversight needed in homeland defense.

• Position: Security beat: homeland defense briefs - Brief Article

The Department of Homeland Security needs a certain level of congressional oversight to function properly, according to James Jay Carafano, of the Heritage Foundation. Congress, for its part, needs to be properly organized to be able to provide that oversight, he said. The current fragmented jurisdiction for DHS programs is counter-productive, he argued.

DHS still has to take care of the nuts and bolts of a cabinet-level agency, he said. That includes implementing human capital, acquisition, and information technology programs; building security systems that match the national strategy, and guarding against terrorist attacks.

Oversight of these activities requires standing committees with the expertise and discipline to see the big picture and dig into the details, he said.

Carafano says the House Select Committee on Homeland Security already has demonstrated that "there could be value added in consolidating...